Magnetic game device



NOV. 7, 1950 c, WOLF 2,528,938

MAGNETIC GAME DEVICE Filed March 24, 1948 INVENTOR. R1. R. WOLF PatentedNov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates toimprovements in game pieces and has reference more particularly to agame piece comprising a miniature football 'player mounted on a platformthat carries a permanent magnet.

The primary object of this invention is to produce an improved miniaturefootball game in which the players are mounted on bases provided withrollers or wheels and which carry permanent magnets, the parts being soarranged that the players are moved anddirected in their movements bymeans of a magnet presenting .a pole of similar polarity to thepermanent magnet carried by the bases so that the players may be movedWithout actually bringing the control magnet into physical contact withthe players or the parts on which they are supported.

The invention is directed to the players or game pieces themselves, butin order to explain the purpose and the advantages of the constructionthat forms the subject of this invention, the same will be described inconnection with a miniature football game. It is to be understood,however, that the invention is not limited to such use, but can beemployed in other relations, if desired.

Miniature football games of various kinds have been invented, some ofwhich are employed entirely in connection with a radio broadcast, or awritten report of a game and the several dummies or game pieces aremoved in accordance with such reports. a

It is the object of this invention to produce game pieces of the typementioned which can be arranged in opposite formations and controlledentirely by magnetic repulsion and in'this way the movements of theplayers will resemble more closely the voluntary movement of a player ona field.

It is a further object of this invention to produce miniature footballplayers mounted on bases and so arranged that when they collide with afootball the latter will adhere to the player, being held in place bymagnetic attraction and this player will then be in position to carrythe ball towards the goal and continue until arrested by a player fromthe oppositeside.

The above and any other objects that may become apparent as the.description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and anarrangement of parts that will now be described in detail and for thispurpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which theinvention has been illustrated, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a miniature football 1 Claim., (Cl. 27394)game board showing two-opposing teams lined up for play;

Figure 2 isa top plan view of the base on which the miniature playersare mounted showing the permanent magnet in position thereon;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3, Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end view looking in the of arrow 4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 shows the manner in which theplayers or game pieces arepropelled by magnetic direction repulsion Figure 6 is a view showing afootball which contains either a permanent magnet or a piece of softiron;

Figure 7 .is a front viewshowing a base on which a player is mounted,showing the same in position preparatory for kicking a field goal;

Figure 8 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 7, but shows anotherposition of the player;

Figures 9 and 10 show other positions of the players to a reduced scale.

.In the drawing reference numeral [5 designates a game board which ismade of any suitable material and has outlined on its surface a footballfield, the ten-yard lines being indicated by reference numeral it andthe goals by reference numerals l1 and I8. The several game piecesrepresenting the players have been shown as lined up in positionpreparatory for a play. When a game is to be played, there are twooperators, each holding in his hand. a permanent magnet, all as will behereinafter more fully described.

Each game piece consists of a base or truck I9 provided with two rollers2!! mounted for free rotation, as shown in Figure 4:. The term rollermeans as employed in the claims is therefore intended to be generic toboth rollers and wheels. The roller means permits the game piece to morefreely move in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of theroller means than in other directions. Instead of rollers, wheels maybeemployed, if desired. Supported on each base or truck is a permanentmagnet 2|, which is preferably made of an alloy that can be highlymagnetized, and which will retain its magnetism indefinitely. The truckitself may be made from soft iron or from some nonmagnetic material,either a metal or a plastic. Each truck carries a miniature footballplayer which has been designated by reference numerals 22 and 22a inFigures '7 and8 and by reference numeral 23 in Figure 5.

Referring now more particularly to Figure-5, it will be seen that theplayer has one foot on each side of the permanent magnet. This is animportant feature of the invention because it prevents contact with thepermanent magnet from the sides. The players may, of course, assume anyposition similar to that assumed by actual players in a game. Referenceto Figure 9 shows that the head of the player projects to the front ofthe magnet which is a feature that lends interest to the game becausewhen two players from opposing teams come towards each other, they meethead-on and this usually results in a turning of one or both of theplayers so as to expose the ends of the magnets of opposite polaritytowards each other. In this way a player is always, tackled from behind.The football has been designated by reference numeral 25 and since thiscontains either a piece of soft iron 26, or a permanent magnet, it isevident that when one of the players collides with the ball, thepermanent magnet carried by the base will attract the ball and thelatter will then adhere to the front of the base or truck and can becarried in this manner to the goal of the opposing team, scoring atouchdown unless a player from the Opposing team manages to obstruct itspassage or tackles it in such a way as to prevent its furthe onwardmovement.

'-Particular attention is directed to Figure in which the hand of theoperator has been designated by reference numeral 21. The operator holdsin his hand a strong permanent magnet 28 and when the permanent magnetsare arranged on the base or truck with the north pole towards the rear,the magnet held by the operator will have its north pole exposed, asshown in Figure 5 so as to exert a repulsive force on magnet 2|. This isan important feature of the invention and of the game because itproduces a movement without actual physical contact and is altogetherdifferent from a corresponding movement that would be obtained byattractive action, the latter would resemble more the pulling of thegame piece by means of a cord which would interfere greatly with itsfree movement, whereas, by the repulsive action employed in the game,the game piece or miniature player is free to respond to whatever forcesit may be subjected to and can therefore make sudden turns or proceed inopposite directions. By employing the repulsive action of magnetsgreater skill is required by the operator than would be necessary wherean attractive action is employed.

. It is contemplated that the permanent magnets shall be all arranged inthe same manner on the several pieces; that is either the south or thenorth pole on all ofthe pieces must be to the front or to the rear. Thisarrangement assures that a player can be tackled and held only from therear because only in this position will the permanent magnets on the twopieces attract each other. At the same time when this arrangement isused, two players meeting each other will be subjected to a repulsiveaction that has a'tend- .ency to turn them and this adds anotherinteresting feature or complication to the game which increases itsinterest and calls for additional skill on the part of the operator.

In the drawing the pieces have been shown as each carrying a miniaturefootball player, but, as above explained, other images or dummies may besubstituted. For example, it may be possible to provide each piece witha miniature dog or cat or any other shape. By having each miniatureplayer in a different position,'the game assumes a more realisticappearance and this adds further interest to the same.

Particular attention is called at this point to the constructioncomprising the truck or base with the permanent magnet secured theretoand the dummy player supported on the base with its legs straddling thepermanent magnet. The permanent magnet has been shown as somewhatshorter than the base with the permanent magnet extending to the rear ofthe base, leaving a ledge at the front which serves to support and holdthe ball when the latter is attracted to the magnet during the play. Byhaving the rear end of the permanent magnet flush with the base, it ismore accessible to the action of the control magnet and makes itpossible for the operator to bring the control magnet into closeproximity with the permanent magnet in order to effect a forcefulline-bucking action.

Having described the invention what is claimed. as new is:

A game device, comprising; a game board, a game piece adapted to move onthe game board, having a non-magnetic base, a permanent bar magnethaving front and rear ends of opposite polarity supported on the base, aminiature figure simulating a player in a contest, fixed to the base,the figure having legs straddling the magnet, and a portion extendingforwardly beyond the base, and magnetic operating means adapted to bemanipulated by the hand of a user from above the board and at the rearend of the bar magnet for moving the game piece forwardly, saidoperating means having a pole at its operative end of the same polarityas the rear end of the bar magnet, whereby the game piece may be movedforwardly by magnetic repulsion as the operating means is moved towardthe rear end of the permanent magnet, and roller means supporting thegame piece adapted to permit it to more freely move in a directionbetween the poles of the magnet than in other directions.

CARL R. WOLF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,603,717 'Rubino et al Oct. 19,1926 ,148,354 Hurlock Feb. 21, 1939 2,239,395 Mallory Apr. 22, 19412,249,454 Brake July 15, 1941 2,263,115 Winter Nov. 18. 1941 2,282,430Smith May 12, 1942 2,330,951 Burmester et al Oct. 5, 1943 2,339,209Vensel Jan. 11, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,537 GreatBritain 1911 608,095 France Apr. 10, 1926

